Oh, there's lots of irony to go around. It's ironic that many of us who want a gaffe-free government that will run the province efficiently are forced to vote Liberal because of the alternative waiting in the wings. Not only ironic but sad. It's certainly sad as well that because of the bandwagon that you're on that you're not able to evaluate initiatives on their merit or lack thereof. We mention the TOIFA's and we start hearing about BC Rail. What does BC Rail have to do with whether or not the TOIFA's are a good idea? Nothing . . . unless you're on that bandwagon. Enjoy the ride Steven!

"If you will the end, you must will the means.” -Prime Minister Francis Urquhart, House of Cards (original British version)

And as usual that went right over your head flaming. The point wasn't that the Liberals are gaffe-free. Far from it. They're gaffe-prone and not deserving of being reelected. The point was that those of us who want a gaffe-free government have to vote for one that is gaffe-prone because of the alternative waiting in the wings. Perhaps that still goes over your head . . . back to the TOIFA's and enjoy that ride on the bandwagon with SL though.

"If you will the end, you must will the means.” -Prime Minister Francis Urquhart, House of Cards (original British version)

Urbane wrote: We mention the TOIFA's and we start hearing about BC Rail. What does BC Rail have to do with whether or not the TOIFA's are a good idea? Nothing . . . unless you're on that bandwagon. Enjoy the ride Steven!

To be fare Urbane ,Steven never mentioned BC rail, I did and it has as much to do with this tread as memos do .

Urbane wrote:It's ironic that many of us who want a gaffe-free government that will run the province efficiently are forced to vote Liberal

There are some good points in this article and when I read it tells me that I should continue to reserve judgment:

Times Of India Film Awards: Will B.C. Benefit From Bollywood Event?Posted: 01/23/2013 4:21 pm

India, a nation of over a billion people with a rich and diverse culture, has leveraged the brand "India" to the world for a good part of the last two decades. Its major rise to the status of an emerging superpower stems not only from its military might, but also its ability to carve out a place for itself on the global stage through the projection of its "Soft Power." The concept is summed up well by Shashi Tharoor during his TED Talk in 2009.

In a world where perceptions and brands rule, India has mastered the art form rather well and continues to cash in through its art, music, dance and culture. Gone are the days when yoga was purely an eastern phenomenon practiced by the yogis in solitude. Indeed, yoga now is a global billion dollar industry, partly thanks to its branding.

The Indian film industry, commonly known as Bollywood, continues to be a major front-runner in exporting India's cultural relevance to the world, similar to what Hollywood does for the U.S. In recent years, Bollywood has successfully tapped into this global South Asian diaspora and beyond through movie premieres, award ceremonies, cultural exchanges, and appearances held regularly outside of India.

Whether it's Singapore or Macau, Malaysia or Morocco, England or Germany, South Africa or Canada, Bollywood has managed to carve out a niche for itself, a niche that can have significant impact on the economics of the city it tours.

The Times of India, one of the largest circulated English-language newspapers in the world, has been behind a number of cultural initiatives, notably "India poised," and is launching a new cultural initiative in the form of an awards ceremony called the Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA). The first one is to be held in Vancouver.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark made the official TOIFA announcement this week. The province is investing $11 million towards the events that in effect will create jobs here in B.C. on the long run. According to initial estimates, the three-day event is expected to generate between $13-18 million for the province.

Reactions within the South Asian community are mixed; some are touting it as a political ploy to gain South Asian votes.

What remains to be seen is if the community and businesses at large will be able to tap into the longer term business opportunities an event of this nature can provide. Vancouver, with its mild weather and beautiful natural beauty, is an ideal location for the filming of Indian films, yet predominantly unexplored by the Indian film community.

TOIFA, with millions of viewers, and the Times of Indian's penetration into the huge Indian middle class, may perhaps be an opportunity to elevate British Columbia's profile.

Bollywood stars have a huge following in India and abroad; they're considered national ambassadors and receive official protocol in most cities they frequent. Many locations around the world compete aggressively to host the film production for Bollywood films featuring A-list stars. London, Berlin, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Dubai, New York, New Zealand and Switzerland all have a familiar ring to a tourism hungry Indian audience; British Columbia perhaps will ring well on the sound of tourism dollars and film productions.

Through a micro lens, TOIFA is just another event that B.C. is hosting with limited benefits. But on a macro level, Canada is yet an untapped market for India to increase its strategic cultural depth and increase its "Soft Power" footprint.http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/adeel-suhr ... 36633.html

"If you will the end, you must will the means.” -Prime Minister Francis Urquhart, House of Cards (original British version)

Urbane wrote:Yes, the problem is that people who simply hate this government because of other issues are automatically against every single initiative that they bring forward. It seems far more responsible to take each issue as it comes but instead we hear "All aboard . . . time to board the anti-government bandwagon." No thanks. I'll reserve judgment on the TOIFA's.

You don't have a choice BUT to reserve judgement because you are WRONG and don't have the cahoonas to admit it. You have absolutely no credible rebuttal and even in the face of proof you choose to continue to hold on to it and your support for the Liberals.

I did take this issue as it came, that's why I started this topic. People who simply hate this government have the right to be against this and every other initiative if the initiative is self serving, campaigning on Tax dollars, photo opportunistic etc. don't ya think.??

Last edited by cutypi on Jan 28th, 2013, 7:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

cutypi wrote:You don't have a choice BUT to reserve judgement because you are WRONG and don't have the cahoonas to admit it. You have absolutely no credible rebuttal and even in the face of proof you choose to continue to hold on to it and your support for the Liberals.

I did take this issue as it came, that's why I started this topic. People who simply hate this government have the right to be against this and every other initiative if the initiative is self serving, campaigning on Tax dollars, photo opportunistic etc. don't ya think.??

I thought that the Huffington Post article made some good points and you know that the HP isn't exactly a right-wing rag. And for you, just declaring that the initiative is all bad and that I should admit it doesn't make it so. It's just that bandwagon making you get carried away.

"If you will the end, you must will the means.” -Prime Minister Francis Urquhart, House of Cards (original British version)

Some good points here as well and it tells me, once again, that I should reserve judgment about this initiative. From Pat Bell - Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour:

IS $11 million a good investment in B.C.’s economic future? Yes, our government thinks so.The fact is B.C.’s economy relies on doing business with other nations. That’s why the BC Jobs Plan focuses on expanding the markets for B.C.’s goods and services, particularly in Asia – because more overseas trade and investment translates into more jobs and greater prosperity for all British Columbians.Consider, for example, where B.C.’s economy would be today had our government not aggressively pursued trade relations with China ten years ago. As of 2011, overall trade with China was up 540 per cent and forest product exports to China had expanded an astounding 3,691 per cent. This growth has added billions of dollars to B.C.’s economy and created thousands of jobs.While China remains a critical trading partner, we are now looking to India as well, where a burgeoning middle class is creating one of the world’s most rapidly growing economies. In fact, by 2050, India will be the third largest economy on the planet – and we want B.C. to be firmly established as a trading partner.To do that, our province first needs to be on India’s radar.Appreciating its importance as a future trade partner, Premier Christy Clark led the largest trade mission in B.C.’s history to India in 2011. Since that visit, B.C. has added two new trade and investment offices in Mumbai and Chandigarh, tripling our presence on the ground in India. This week, the Premier announced B.C. would host the first Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA), taking place in Vancouver this April.The Province of British Columbia will provide $9.5 million in matching funding to the Times Group towards producing the event. An additional $1.5 million is being budgeted for various activities in B.C. including hosting the BC-India Global Business Forum. Our investment will be effectively offset by the $13-18 million the province will see in immediate, direct spending, but it is the bigger picture that matters: building a long, durable and lucrative trade relationship with India will benefit B.C.’s economy for generations to come.This awards show helps us do that. We want India to know who we are and what our province has to offer. The Times of India Film Awards will help us tell that story to hundreds of millions of investors, businesses and travellers.India’s Times Group is one of the world’s largest media conglomerates, with a daily reach of 90 million people. Their flagship newspaper, The Times of India, has the widest circulation of any English-language newspaper in the world and their financial daily, The Economic Times, is second only to the Wall Street Journal in terms of readership and prestige.Through these awards and through our trade missions, our province is reaching out to India in the same way we reached out to China ten years ago. And we are confident that British Columbians will see the same robust levels of investment and job growth in the decade ahead.

"If you will the end, you must will the means.” -Prime Minister Francis Urquhart, House of Cards (original British version)

Urbane wrote:And for you, just declaring that the initiative is all bad and that I should admit it doesn't make it so

Your right.. all the evidence to the contrary is just more bandwagon rhetoric and means nothing compared to your wit and brilliance. Everyone else (most posters) in this thread are wrong and I think you have convinced me with all your research and evidence and "fact based" posts that the "CHRISTIE" awards are good for BC and that I should even vote Liberal in the next election !! God forbid, I wouldn't want to be considered a "bandwangoner"..OUCH !!

Urbane wrote:Some good points here as well and it tells me, once again, that I should reserve judgment about this initiative. From Pat Bell - Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour:

One needs to possess a bit of an open mind to see the potential of such moves by our government, those who are letting emotion rule, and have closed their minds to anything Liberals do, will naturally see no positives whatsoever, just another opportunity to spew more venom.

cutypi wrote:I did take this issue as it came, that's why I started this topic. People who simply hate this government have the right to be against this and every other initiative if the initiative is self serving, campaigning on Tax dollars, photo opportunistic etc. don't ya think.??

Hopefully you'll have no issue eating crow when initiatives such as this, do in fact draw more business to BC from India, and you get proven WRONG.

Liberals have certainly bungled a lot of stuff, but they have also done a lot right, more than I can say for the NDP.

Best get to turning on your PM function your new best friend is itching to kiss up. :wink:

Urbane wrote:Some good points here as well and it tells me, once again, that I should reserve judgment about this initiative. From Pat Bell - Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour:

Is $11 million a good investment in B.C.’s economic future?" Yes, our government thinks so."

Of course THEY do.. Wonder who's idea the Christie awards were in the first place....Hummmmm Did I hear the word gullible ??